VBPD: Driver who hit officer was drunk

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Virginia Beach Police say the officer involved in an accident early Monday morning was the victim of a drunk driver.

Jimmy Barnes with the Virginia Beach Police Department said the crash occurred around 3:30 a.m. when the on duty officer was traveling east in the 900 block of Virginia Beach Boulevard in the right hand lane. As the officer approached the Colony Trailer Park area, another vehicle pulled out from the officer's left and entered the left hand lane.

According to Barnes, the driver of the second vehicle, Johnathan Fullington, 22, was moving slowly. As the officer was passing the second vehicle, Fullington suddenly turned in front of the officer in an attempt to enter the Colony Trailer Park. The officer's cruiser was then struck, pushing the officer off the road, into a fire hydrant and finally crashing into a telephone pole.

The pole was cut in half as a result, Barnes said.

Both the officer and Fullington were taken to the hospital where they are expected to be okay. Fullington has been charged with DUI first offense and possession of a controlled substance.

A female passenger in the second vehicle was arrested on outstanding warrants from West Virginia.